Clothesline apparatus



May 20, 1941. c, 5 WEST CLOTHESLINE APPARATUS Filed March 20, 1939 INVENTOR. I BY j mfi fikzf" ATTORNEY. V

Patented May 20, 1941 UNETED STATES 1 Claim.

Thi invention relates to pulleys for use in connection with clotheslines and is directed more particularly to the provision of a novel pulley construction which permits the operator to remain indoors while hanging clothes on the line or removing them therefrom.

As special features, the construction of the invention is such that the operator may readily move the pulley device outdoors when the clothes are to be dried. That is to say, the device may be pulled inside a window or door, for example, to facilitate the hanging of the clothes thereon and then afterwards moved outside until the clothes are to be removed from the line.

It is an object of my invention to provide an improved pulley construction which may be made more economically and with fewer operations, both in the manufacture of parts as well as in their assembly, than prior devicesknown in the art. Clothesline pulley devices heretofore known have the common objection that in order to operate them it is necessary to either stand out of doors or lean out of a window.

The device of this invention permits the operator to remain indoors, out of direct'contact with the elements, and thus eliminating the jeopardizing of the health of the user in the handling of wet clothes in the open air. Therefore I have devised a novel means whereby these difficulties and objections are overcome.

Various other novel features and advantages of my invention will be hereinafter more fully described and referred to in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of the device of theinvention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view showing the device attached to a window frame;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 i a sectional view on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Referring now to the drawing in detail the invention will be more fully described.

What I call a bar member 2 is pivoted at 4 to a member H1. The bar is elongated and carries on its opposite ends pulley wheels 6.

The member In is slidable back and forth in a bracket 8 which is intended to be secured to a window frame W. The member I and bracket 8 preferably have some means whereby the member It) may be locked in various adjusted positions.

According to the preferred embodiment of the invention, this means take the form of a plu- (Cl.'21l- 119.05)

rality of spaced openings provided in the slidable bar In and a peg member l2 mov-ably associated with the bracket and adapted to be inserted in any chosen opening in part Hi. There may be a. spring member I4 which yieldingly urges peg I2 into the selected opening.

Thus, the slidable member Ii! may be moved relative to the window opening so that its forward end is moved inwardly of the same and easily locked in the desired position.

As stated, member 2 is pivoted to the forward end of the slidable bar, wherefore it moves inwardly of the window opening when the bar In does. The member 2 is adapted to swing when desired between an upright or vertical position as shown in Fig. 2 and a relatively horizontal position as indicated by dot-dash lines in Fig. 1. In the latter position, one end thereof will extend into the window opening so as to facilitate disposition on, removal from, the line of clothing, etc., without requiring the operator to go outdoors.

Preferably some means is also provided to releasably lock the bar member- 2 in said horizontal position. This may vary in nature but may include an opening It in the slide I0 and a peg l8 similar to the peg l2, associated with the bar and adapted to be removably inserted in opening I6. A spring member such as shown may be provided to yieldingly urge the peg into the opening [6.

The clothesline, indicated by L, extends over wheels 6 and around a wheel 20 rotatable in a bracket 22 carried by a hook or the like 24 attached to a post P or some similar support away from the house. It will be appreciated that the line is movable over the pulleys and that as clothes are hung on the part of the line which is moved inside the house by means of the device of the invention, said part of the line may then be moved outwardly again and unoccupied line brought in.

I have found it preferable to have one end portion of the bar member 2 offset relative to the other end, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. Thus one pulley wheel 6 will be out of alignment with the other wheel ii so that the upper and. lower runs of the line L will not be in alignment at the hanging end of the line. Thus, the runs are not apt to interfere with one another and the manipulation of the line is facilitated.

While I have described the invention in great detail and with respect to the present preferred form thereof, it is not desired to be limited thereto since changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The invention may be embodied in other specific forms Without departing from the essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claim rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claim are therefore intended to be embraced therein. What it is desired to claim and secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

The combination with the window opening of a building and a distantly located clothesline pulley with apparatus adjacent said opening for co-operating with said pulley to support a clothesline comprising, a bracket secured to the building adjacent said opening having a horizontally disposed guideway, a slide member slidable in said guideway whereby its inner end may be moved to various positions in frontof said opening, said slide member being provided with a plurality of spaced apertures, a spring pressed lock associated with said bracket engageable with any one of said apertures to releasably lock said slide in various positions of horizontal adjustment, an end member on the inner end of said slide member, a bar member pivoted intermediate its opposite ends to said end member, said end member provided with a plurality of apertures and said bar member provided with a spring pressed lock member engageable with any one of said apertures whereby said bar may be releasably locked in vertical position or horizontal position with an end thereof extending into said Window opening, grooved wheels on opposite ends of said bar for receiving a clothesline passing over said distantly located pulley, and one end of said bar being offset into a plane spaced from the plane of the opposite end to bring the grooves of said Wheels out of alignment with one another.

CLIFFORD S. WEST. 

